Short Description:
Decreasing opportunities in the publishing sector made many organisations add other media to their product range. Many decided to offer their traditional products as multimedia applications in the form of CD-ROMs which seemed to be the trend for the future.
Companies that have increased their product range with new media have to face various orientation problems. On one hand, the industry is characterised by short product life cycles, on the other hand, contents of traditional products have to be converted into electronic products. Organisations are short of information concerning client demand for new products.
Marcus Schneid analyses these problems in his master thesis and develops a catalogue with criteria organisations can apply for the development of CD-ROMs. His focus is on products for the private consumer sector.
The paper consists of five chapters.
After introducing the reader to the topic in the first chapter, the terms electronic publishing, multimedia, and CD-ROM are defined in the second chapter. Following is a description of market potentials of sectors being of direct and indirect concern for CD-ROMs. One of the characteristics of the CD-ROM market is that an important percentage of CD-ROMs is not purchased directly but is sold together with CD-ROM drives. The biggest part of marketed products were company information.
Further the author analyses trends, opinions, opportunities and threats that are related to new media and computer technology.
In the third chapter, a catalogue with criteria concerning requirements for CD-ROM products is developed. Requirements concerning packaging, content, technical equipment, and response to consumer needs are explained.
The author carried out a survey with real and potential clients asking them about their opinions concerning the importance of the criteria. The result was that especially reliability of the product and easiness to use it were considered as relevant.
In the fourth chapter, four CD-ROM-titles are examined and evaluated with the help of the criteria catalogue.
The author gives a summary and an out look in the concluding fifth chapter.